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I thought Ballantyne was developed by private developers..
Yes it was. The Harris and Bissell families on inherited land. These are the same people responsible for South Park. I don't think any government money was involved except for the highways. That money would have come from the NCDOT and not Charlotte. As far as I know, this area was not part of Charlotte when developed. Charlotte later used its power of forced annexation to move it into the city limits.
IMO, I think they should pursue it though I think they will have a hard time of it. I'm not sure there is a precedent for it in NC and the NC Legislature would have to approve it. They probably should have tried to incorporate it before Charlotte annexed it.
Sounds as if the town of Providence would also invite other neighborhoods to join as far in as Myers Park. I can imagine the establishment political class of Charlotte would become completely unglued if this thing becomes serious. When you have a Mayor that never saw a tax increase that he didn't like, losing 1/2 of the tax base isn't going to settle well with him and any of the district council members from the inner city districts that benefit the most from the high taxes in CLT.
I would encourage anyone who thinks this idea had merit to do some digging. As I've stated before, the entire "debate" is more political posturing than an idea with any real substance, and it demeans the constituency of these elected officials.
I looked back over this thread and I see so many misunderstandings and so much misinformation that the entire premise is really clown-car-silly.
Interesting quote from that^ link: “A high quality mixed use community offering substantial and concentrated opportunities for employment, shopping and a variety of housing types for rent or sale and priced to accommodate all levels of income represented by the large Ballantyne work force.”
I guess that means all levels except low income, lol...
Look folks, everyone gets worked up when you take their money. Heck, I do too. The gripe I have with this concept is that it reeks of a dual-standard. The entire (well-planned) master community capitalized on their impending and rapid annexation into Charlotte to generate the capital to make the whole thing possible. Then, when those tax monies are used to raise the (taxable!!) value of other parts of Charlotte there is this cry of dissatisfaction. A "cry" that really, at it's heart is nothing more than political BS. Any sort of split from Charlotte would be death knell for the economic future of Charlotte and by proxy all the communities that rely on the economic engine... including Ballantyne. Even the president of Ballantyne Corporate has stated his opposition to any sort of split!
If *anyone* can find an opinion of someone other than a politician who thinks this is a good idea and why, please... PLEASE share it. I'd love to read it and find out why.
I would encourage anyone who thinks this idea had merit to do some digging. As I've stated before, the entire "debate" is more political posturing than an idea with any real substance, and it demeans the constituency of these elected officials.
I looked back over this thread and I see so many misunderstandings and so much misinformation that the entire premise is really clown-car-silly.
Interesting quote from that^ link: “A high quality mixed use community offering substantial and concentrated opportunities for employment, shopping and a variety of housing types for rent or sale and priced to accommodate all levels of income represented by the large Ballantyne work force.â€
I guess that means all levels except low income, lol...
Look folks, everyone gets worked up when you take their money. Heck, I do too. The gripe I have with this concept is that it reeks of a dual-standard. The entire (well-planned) master community capitalized on their impending and rapid annexation into Charlotte to generate the capital to make the whole thing possible. Then, when those tax monies are used to raise the (taxable!!) value of other parts of Charlotte there is this cry of dissatisfaction. A "cry" that really, at it's heart is nothing more than political BS. Any sort of split from Charlotte would be death knell for the economic future of Charlotte and by proxy all the communities that rely on the economic engine... including Ballantyne. Even the president of Ballantyne Corporate has stated his opposition to any sort of split!
If *anyone* can find an opinion of someone other than a politician who thinks this is a good idea and why, please... PLEASE share it. I'd love to read it and find out why.
The entire (well-planned) master community capitalized on their impending and rapid annexation into Charlotte to generate the capital to make the whole thing possible.
I don't understand this statement. I can't imagine that annexation would be viewed as a positive by anyone including those providing capital to build this project. This is why the state of NC allows for involuntary annexations.
I don't understand this statement. I can't imagine that annexation would be viewed as a positive by anyone including those providing capital to build this project. This is why the state of NC allows for involuntary annexations.
You don't have to imagine it. You just have to pay attention to facts.
Because without impending annexation, there would be no sewer system out there. The developers knew going in it was going to be annexed. Anyone building near a city within the same county should know that, or they are not doing their homework.
[quote=Native_Son;24747557]I would encourage anyone who thinks this idea had merit to do some digging. As I've stated before, the entire "debate" is more political posturing than an idea with any real substance, and it demeans the constituency of these elected officials.
'This issue is just a focal point for frustration around tax allocation. The real issue appears to be frustration on the part of people who are paying higher overall taxes and getting lower overall benefit from the city and county - a sense of taxation without representation. This is a point I can sympathize with. I would have no problem with part of my tax dollars improving inner city schools and infrastructure - but not if my own neighborhood schools are underfunded to the point I feel the need to put my kids in private school and move into a gated neighborhood to feel secure, join a club to have a community pool, or whatever.
Now, Ani. You know that developers, particularly corporate commercial developers, don't develop anything without hefty breaks from government. Not to mention all the infrastructure costs, and the negative externalities caused by all that sprawl.
You honestly believe this? Without Charlotte jobs, Ballantyne would lose more than half its population. A lot of those office parks are near empty as we speak.
'This issue is just a focal point for frustration around tax allocation. The real issue appears to be frustration on the part of people who are paying higher overall taxes and getting lower overall benefit from the city and county - a sense of taxation without representation. This is a point I can sympathize with. I would have no problem with part of my tax dollars improving inner city schools and infrastructure - but not if my own neighborhood schools are underfunded to the point I feel the need to put my kids in private school and move into a gated neighborhood to feel secure, join a club to have a community pool, or whatever.
*DISCLAIMER* I don't live in "Ballantyne/Providence"
I agree wholeheartedly with your post, but let's look at the bolded section. Can you tell me what section of "Ballantyne/Providence has bad schools or dangerous communities? The truth is that most of the schools in that area (especially nearest Ballantyne) are among the best schools in the state! And the tax rate they pay is commensurate with the relative values of their properties. The county reevaluation hurt me too. To the tune of a 50% increase. Did anyone in "Ballantyne/Providence" see that kind of increase, because if they did we can start talking realistically about under representation! I live in an area of town that hasn't seen *jack-squat* in the way of improvements in 15+ years. I live in an area where the main surface road to the neighborhood hasn't been surfaced for longer than the NCDOT engineers can tell me, and that's no exaggeration. Meanwhile I've seen Ballantyne Commons Pkwy paved about three times, not to mention every other south Charlotte road, lol.
And the extra money spent per pupil in my "neighborhood school" doesn't keep my home school from having a 98% free or reduced lunch population, so guess where my child *doesn't* go to school? If CMS dissolves my magnet school (which Ballantyne children are free to attend, btw) I will be forced to move to a better district. Then I have less disposable income to stimulate the local economy, because somehow I don't see any reduced rate of taxation in "Ballantyne/Providence" offsetting the large increase of my "buy-in" price in those premium areas of town. I'm not the only person in Charlotte that would go through this thought process either, so tell me how does this scenario do anything but start putting pressure on "Ballantyne/Providence"? Are they going to build gates since they will be so flush with cash? How long will it take the inner city have-nots to figure out where the only money around is and where they can climb the wall?
Surely I can't be the only person who thinks this will be the case? Am I crazy?
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